Horrific Rock County home invasion case wrapped up

JANESVILLE—A sentencing in Rock County Court this week brought to a close the horrific case of a rural home invasion in 2013

Two men and two women in their 20s will spend years in state prison for crimes that one of the men told investigators they committed for money, to impress the women and for fun.

The “fun” included the men bursting into the town of Fulton home wearing ski masks and binding the couple with duct tape and covering their eyes and mouths with tape.

The “fun” included threatening the couple with a shotgun and bloodying the man's nose with a kick to the face.

The “fun” included taking about 35 guns, $2,500 cash and a pickup truck belonging to the homeowners.

Later, the “fun” involved one of the robbers leading police on a chase down Janesville's Parker Drive and across the lawn of the Rock County Courthouse before escaping.

All four were apprehended later in another chase in the Wisconsin Dells area.

The most recent sentencing was of Sarah A. Buckingham, 21, of 1715 25th St., Monroe, who assisted in the crimes but did not have any direct contact with the victims.

Buckingham drove the car during the robbery. The car belonged to an acquaintance of Buckingham who later reported it stolen.

Buckingham pleaded guilty to being a party to the crimes of armed robbery, felony theft of firearms and operating a motor vehicle without owner consent. The combined maximum penalty for those crimes is 49.5 years.

Judge Kenneth Forbeck sentenced Buckingham to 18 years in prison followed by 12 years of extended supervision. She will serve the sentence along with a sentence previously imposed in Sauk County.

Others sentenced previously were:

-- Jesse D. Adams, 23, of 719 Kenwood Ave., Beloit, 33 years in prison followed by 23 years of extended supervision. The sentence was tacked onto a sentence previously imposed in Walworth County.

-- Christopher A, Kimps, 25, now of the Waupun Correctional Institution, 33 years in prison followed by 23 years of extended supervision.

-- Kayla L. Pearson, 22, of 1910 N. Lexington Drive, Janesville, 18 years in prison followed by 13 years of extended supervision.

Pearson is a former girlfriend of the victims' son and had lived with the couple for months before being kicked out in December 2012, according to the criminal complaint. She supplied the information that led to the robbery.

In a statement to The Gazette several days after the robbery, the couple called the incident “completely devastating.”